Telecom Commission Letter addressed to Christian Lebel (Canada Revenue Agency)
Ottawa, 4 May 2020
Our reference: 1011-NOC2019-0363
BY EMAIL
Christian Lebel
Liaison Officer
Criminal Investigations Division
Canada Revenue Agency
christian.lebel@cra-arc.gc.ca
RE: Request for Taxpayer Information pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act – MySignal.ca and Mr. Wil McQuaid
Dear Mr. Lebel,
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the Commission) staff recognize the essential work that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is doing to support Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, I appreciate and understand that a response to this request for information could be delayed as the CRA prioritizes more pressing matters in its service to Canadians.
I am writing you pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp), which permits an official of the CRA to provide, to an official of the Commission, taxpayer information in certain circumstances. In accordance with this provision, it is requested that the CRA provide the undersigned, an official within the meaning of this provision, with the taxpayer information set out below.
- The Corporation Income Tax Returns (T2) and Notices of Assessment for the last three years (2016 – 2018) pertaining to MySignal.ca.
- The personal Income Tax and Benefit Returns (T1) and Notices of Assessment for the last three years (2016 – 2018) pertaining to the known director and shareholder of MySignal.ca, Mr. Wil McQuaid. We suspect Mr. Wil McQuaid is 35-50 years of age and his full legal name may be William Robert John McQuaid.
I note that after multiple corporate searches, Commission staff have been unable to locate any federal and provincial business reports on the company. We suspect the company is, in fact, a numbered company operating under the tradename “MySignal.ca”, “MySignal.ca Solutions Inc.”, or “MySignal.ca Communications Corporation”. Our investigation leads us to believe that the business address of the company and/or the address of Mr. McQuaid could be any of the following:
- 6A Mont Pleasant Road
Belleville, Ontario, K8N 2H2 - 25 Albany Heights
Belleville, Ontario, K8P 2C4 - Foresters Building, Suite 2201, 789 Don Mills Road
Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1T9
The Terms of service available on the company’s website (MySignal.ca), notes that the business operates under the laws and jurisdiction of British Columbia.
This request is being made in light of the following:
- Pursuant to sections 72.001 and 72.003 of the Telecommunications Act, SC 1993, c 38, the Commission is empowered, in the course of a proceeding before it, to impose an administrative monetary penalty on any person that commits a violation of that Act.
- Section 72.002 of that Act requires the Commission to take into account a number of enumerated factors in determining the amount of an administrative monetary penalty to be imposed, including the person’s ability to pay the penalty.
- In Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-363 (NOC 2019-363), the Commission stated that it appeared both the company and Mr. McQuaid have failed to become participants in the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Inc.
- This failure, if ultimately made out, would constitute a violation for which an administrative monetary penalty may be imposed. NOC 2019-363 proposed that, in the event that the violations were made out, administrative monetary penalties of $50,000 and $15,000 be imposed against the company and Mr. McQuaid, respectively.
- In NOC 2019-363, the company and Mr. McQuaid were directed to show cause why they should not be found to have committed the apparent violations and why such penalties should not be imposed against them and were encouraged to file any evidence that might support their positions by 16 December 2019. This would include financial information relevant to their ability to pay the proposed amounts. Neither the company nor Mr. McQuaid provided any response. Further, NOC 2019-363 provided notice that the Commission intended to request financial information from the CRA related to the company and Mr. McQuaid’s ability to pay.
Given the lack of response from the parties themselves, Commission staff requests that the CRA disclose the aforementioned tax information of the company and of Mr. McQuaid pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act.
Disclosure of the requested tax information will be used solely for the purpose of the administration and enforcement of a regulatory function of the Commission—in particular, it will be used to ensure that the Commission is properly able to assess the ability of these persons to pay the administrative monetary penalties proposed in NOC 2019-363.
I would also note that in filing any information with the Commission, the CRA may designate any of the information filed as confidential, in accordance with section 39 of the Telecommunications Act.
If you or your staff have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact the manager responsible for the file, Antica Corner, or Commission legal counsel, Salahuddin Rafiquddin. The relevant contact information is set out below.
I thank you in advance for your assistance in this regard.
Sincerely,
Nanao Kachi
Director, Social & Consumer Policy
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
1 promenade du Portage
Gatineau, QC J8X 4B1
cc: Antica Corner, Manager, CRTC, 819-997-1334, antica.corner@crtc.gc.ca
Salahuddin Rafiquddin, Legal Counsel, CRTC, 873-353-4706, salahuddin.rafiquddin@crtc.gc.ca
- Date modified: